The 3 Most Popular Anime Hairstyles

There’s no doubt in anime that one of the first things you’ll notice are the hairstyles. Anime hairstyles stick out in all directions, overall just defying the laws of physics, and come in every color in the crayon box! Just how do creators come up with them? Thing thing is that anime hairstyles, like anime characters, do have their own set of personalities.

There are perhaps thousands of anime characters with creative hairstyles that are out of this world, but which hairstyles are the most popular? Read on and find out!

Spiked Hair

If you’ve got a love for shounen anime, then you’re no stranger to the ever popular spiked hair for guys. Characters like Son Goku from Dragon Ball, Kurosaki Ichigo from Bleach, and Uzumaki Naruto from Naruto make this hairstyle one of the staples when it comes down to anime hairstyles. Not to mention, they’re anime that everyone knows about regardless of if they watch anime or not.

Yu-Gi-Oh

The spiked hairstyle can be identified by the appearance of spiky hair that can be styled in all directions or pointed in the same direction. In Naruto, Jiraiya explains that the spikes can indicate the direction of a person’s chakra, and how it can spiral such as in the case of Naruto who was learning the rasengan at the time. In Naruto, the hairstyle is a clear indicator of a person’s chakra, but spiked hair can have other qualities as well. Many spiked anime characters tends to be the “Shounen Jump-style” character who is headstrong, impulsive, with idealistic morals almost as strong as their own power. As you can see, it’s clear that it’s not just the clothes that make the man.

While some characters like Son Goku make the spiked hairstyle almost impossible by science, there are other characters that are much more believable. Kurosaki Ichigo and Uzumaki Naruto have that messy spiked hair that looks like it’s been styled in all directions using Gatsby, so we know it’s possible. Even Dragneel Natsu from Fairy Tail has an anime hairstyle that can easily be achieved with the use of some product. Not every anime hairstyle is as impossible as it looks. Remember those days when you were a teen and spiked hair was in? Look to your favorite Shounen Jump characters for a refreshing take on a classic style. Just don’t forget your hair wax!

Twin Tail

Ore, Twintail ni Narimasu

There’s no hairstyle more moe than the twin tail! Hell, they even made an anime all about twin tails called Ore, Twintail ni Narimasu. Although the anime itself is more like a B-rated anime, there is a clear love of twin tail in the world of anime hairstyles!

A twin tail can be identified by a hairstyle where the hair is halved and tied to create two identical tails. In essence, this is similar to pigtails. Unlike spiky haired characters, twin tails have to actually tie up their own hair to achieve the look, but it’s a look that requires relatively little work – just an eye for symmetry! It’s a hairstyle that is easy to achieve. You can tie your hair up on the top of your head or on the side, and you can accessorize with bobbles, ribbons, or bows!

With the various use of accessories, it is no surprise that twin tail characters are known more for their childish personalities, such as Sasami Masaki from Tenchi Muyo or Silica from Sword Art Online. Often twin tails are used to give a character a more youthful appearance in spite of their attempts at being mature to create a hilarious contrast. We can see this clearly with Hagimuru Suzu from Seitokai Yakuindomowho attempts to appear more mature but her appearance, with an emphasis on the twin tails, only makes her appear younger than she is. You can’t forget one of the most well known twin tails, Tsukino Usagi, otherwise known as Sailor Moon! You absolutely cannot forget about Usagi! Usagi helped to make the twin tail look as popular as it is today. She’s our beloved “meatball head,” as they called her in the English dub.

Ahoge

Last but certainly not least, the ahoge. Out of the hairstyles listed in this article, ahoge is the one hairstyle that does not gender discriminate. Ahoge is a style of hair in which one strand (or rather tuft) sticks upward, apart from the rest of the hair. It can sometime defy gravity, sticking straight up in the air, or swirl in different directions. Many characters with different hairstyles can have an ahoge, so you might want to take note if you missed them before!

Lucky Star

Originally, the hairstyle was given to anime characters who were characterized as stupid or idiots, which rightly fights the name “ahoge” or “idiot hair.” Despite that initial character trait, some anime characters with an ahoge are not actually stupid. Mischievousness and carelessness are also personality traits associated with ahoge these days. Many characters in Hetalia have an ahoge, as well as Douma Taihei from Himouto! Umaru-chan, and Lala from To Love-Ru. These characters have their own reasons for having an ahoge, though usually it revolves around stupidity, as you can see from the characters of Hetalia and Lala from To Love-Ru. Taihei is not exactly stupid, but he is rather naive as he lets his little sister trick and manipulate him on a regular basis.

If you really want to achieve this look, an ahoge is actually just a cowlick. The name comes from what hairdressers used to call it: “stupid hair” because it is difficult to put back into place. You could always use hair product to replicate a cowlick if you’re one of those blessed without them, but chances are you’ve probably got a cowlick or two out of place making you an ahoge character whether you like it or not!

Conclusion

Some say that clothes make the man, but truly, hairstyles can make the man, or woman. Anime hairstyles seem to defy logic, but with each style comes a specific personality or trait that defines a character type. Hopefully you’ve got a new understanding of what a hairstyle means to a character after this article. While most characters dress similarly in uniform, they bring out their personality in many different ways and their hair is most definitely one of them!